The Examined Life: in addition to physical activity, the Birch Rock experience emphasizes intellectual engagement, whether it be chess, role playing games, or just reading in the cabins during the afternoon rest period.

The Whale

Breakfast isn’t all biscuits and gravy. In addition to taking turns serving their tables, campers like Wes use this time to recall Birch Rock mythology: from the origin of the charging moose, to the tale of Three Fingered Willie.

“Luuunch!” Ryan Massey, aka “Ryno,” calls, ushering in the Birch Rock boys from whatever activities they’re up to that day: swimming, reading, playing sports, building practice fires, or just hunting down some squirrels and frogs as part of their “wild food day” education.

The Examined Life: in addition to physical activity, the Birch Rock experience emphasizes intellectual engagement, whether it be chess, role playing games, or just reading in the cabins during the afternoon rest period.

The Whale

Breakfast isn’t all biscuits and gravy. In addition to taking turns serving their tables, campers like Wes use this time to recall Birch Rock mythology: from the origin of the charging moose, to the tale of Three Fingered Willie.

“Luuunch!” Ryan Massey, aka “Ryno,” calls, ushering in the Birch Rock boys from whatever activities they’re up to that day: swimming, reading, playing sports, building practice fires, or just hunting down some squirrels and frogs as part of their “wild food day” education.

We did not take to the sky like a bird. We did not soar. We were born aloft in the lightest sense of the word—like a spore or downy seed. And we felt that small, with the world spread out below us, the silence around us revealing a character in the air unknown on the ground. We looked down with birds’ eyes but could not control our direction. We were left to the whims of the wind and there was no friction.

A story of mountain biking, conservation, and a POTUS and his muddy secret service

Cyndi Smith conquers a trail and sports Peloton One socks while riding in the Edwin L. Smith Land Preserve.

President Bush, flanked by Chris Smith to the right (in black), says, "I congratulate my friends and biking companions Brandon and Chris for building outstanding trails. I look forward to riding the trails for many years, and I hope many others will as well."

Cyndi Smith conquers a trail and sports Peloton One socks while riding in the Edwin L. Smith Land Preserve.

President Bush, flanked by Chris Smith to the right (in black), says, "I congratulate my friends and biking companions Brandon and Chris for building outstanding trails. I look forward to riding the trails for many years, and I hope many others will as well."